News and reviews of made on Maui products and Maui-based companies and success stories. Also featuring island shopping guides

Posts tagged ‘Kula’

Saturday was a beach day, filled with tidepooling and monk seal watching at Hookipa Beach Park, which meant that Sunday was a great day for relaxing Upcountry. It never ceases to amaze me that it can be hot, blazing sunny and cranking windy in Paia, and we can drive uphill for twenty minutes to Kula, where we can relax outside under the shade of thick cloud cover, with no wind, enjoying a climate that is several degrees cooler. Its like a different world. And since my kids can eat their weight in tropical fruit, we made our first visit to the Maui Nui Farm Stand.

Outside of the farm stand is their food truck, Nui’s Garden Kitchen, which we didn’t get to try this visit so no reviews today (but if you’ve been – leave a review in the comments!). We did fill up our bags with beets, kale, apple bananas, papayas and star fruit for only $15, which seemed really reasonable for the quantity that we walked out with.

Beyond the farm stand are rows and rows of produce and flowers, giving comfort that the produce is fresh and authentically local. According to their website they have 40 acres! They offered all kinds of greens, fruits, potatoes, eggs, breads, cookies, flowersand more. There are also water lilly ponds and all kinds of colorful flowers upon the entry.

Looks organic…

all kinds of potatoes

celery, carrots, cabbage, and gigantic napa cabbage

Maui Nui Farm Stand is open Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm. (and here are my Maui-style directions-Turn off the highway where the Kula Hardware store is – then take a left instead of a right – you’ll see the signs- or click here to view the map) On Tuesdays and Fridays, they are selling produce at TJs Oriental Food Mart behind the Old Kahului Mall. They also offer tours of their farm, and catering for weddings and private events.

Omaopio Road, which connects Kula to Puunene, didn’t have much reason to see visitor traffic, unless you had a particular interest in fancy goat cheese or adorable baby goats. Now, in addition to Surfing Goat Dairy, Omaopio Road is now also a destination for vodka connoisseurs!

In April, Ocean Vodka, the number one selling ‘made in Hawaii’ spirit, opened a brand new Organic Farm and Distillery, with tours available several times a day.

I arrived too late for the tour, but the gift shop is open to the public currently during tour hours, from 9-4 daily. There’s a few logo items available for purchase, and some vodka of course, but according to Danielle, the very friendly shop employee, in a few weeks it should be full of some great made on Maui finds! I’ll check it out and report back.

Tours of the organic farm and distillery are available daily at 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 1:00 and 2:30. Tours are $10 a person or $25 includes lunch. To schedule your tour you should contact Ocean Vodka here , or just drop by and see if there’s space available!

According to their website,

Ocean Vodka is the only spirit in the world made from organically farmed sugar cane, blended with deep ocean mineral water and powered by the sun. Ocean Vodka is 100% Certified USDA Organic and gluten-free, with a proprietary column distillation process that produces an ultra-clean spirit highly decorated and unrivaled in the marketplace. When this pure refined spirit is blended with deep ocean mineral water, Ocean Vodka takes on a unique, mineral-rich flavor found in no other vodka.

Hum, I wonder if the tour includes a sample…

The Ocean Vodka Gift Shop Open 9-4 Daily

Ocean Vodka is the only Vodka in the world distilled from Organic Sugar Cane

The New Ocean Vodka Distillery

And, a baby pineapple.

Just up the road from Ocean Vodka is Surfing Goat Dairy, where you can purchase goat cheese, check out the baby goats (there always seem to be some babies there! These goats breed like rabbits!), and yes, take a tour!

Surfing Goat Dairy actually offers three types of tours, a casual tour with no reservations necessary, for $10/adult and $7 kids, evening chores and milking tour,Mon-Sat at 3:15 for $15/a, $12/k, (reservations recommended) and a grand dairy tourfor $25 on selected Saturday mornings, which includes milking a goat and sampling many cheeses!

I haven’t taken a tour yet, but it’s a nice, casual place where you can hang out and enjoy the goats, and if you linger long enough, you can get some good info! According to yesterday’s overheard conversation, the dairy mixes too particular types of goats (and probably more) – one that produces lots of milk, and one that produces milk with a high butter-fat content. There really is more to goat cheese than I ever knew, perhaps this summer we’ll have to add a goat tour to our list of family activities!

One thing is for sure- there’s a lilikoi goat milk cheesecake that I’m dying to try! There’s even a nice shady seating area to enjoy your cheesy delights.

Hours of Operation at the Surfing Goat Dairy

If there’s anything cuter than a baby goat I haven’t found it

Silly goat, enjoying the views of upcountry Maui. WIth the ample sun on Omaopio, solar panels make sense for the dairy and the distillery!